[CS-FSLUG] Gay church advises on U.S. adoption policy

[Ralph De Witt]

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Gay church advises on U.S. adoption policy 
      Larry Buhl, PlanetOut Network 
      Friday, July 16, 2004 / 05:45 PM 

SUMMARY: The Bush administration's unexpected invitation to the mostly GLBT 
Metropolitan Community Churches to participate in an adoption summit was 
welcomed by the denomination's leader.

Days after President Bush encouraged Congress to pass the Federal Marriage 
Amendment (FMA), the administration seemingly offered an olive branch to the 
GLBT community by inviting the predominantly gay and lesbian Metropolitan 
Community Church (MCC) to take an active role in recommending strategies for 
recruiting adoptive and foster families.

MCC is one of the world's largest gay organizations, with almost 300 local 
churches for its 43,000 members and adherents in 22 countries.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy G. Thompson invited Rev. Troy D. 
Perry, who founded MCC in 1968 and now serves as moderator of the gay 
Christian denomination, to participate in the AdoptUSKids National Adoption 
and Foster Care Recruitment Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and 
Friday.

Secretary Thompson's letter said, "As a respected leader in the faith 
community, your participation in the AdoptUSkids Summit is critical to 
mobilizing a dedicated segment of the American public who intrinsically 
understands the importance of family to healthy youth development."

Although Rev. Perry was not able to attend the conference due to a previously 
scheduled speaking engagement, he submitted a letter to the conference with 
key recommendations for the Bush administration, including:

Actively seek out GLBT people as foster parents and include them in speeches, 
ads and other marketing efforts.
 
No longer ignore the growing volume of research that shows GLBT people to have 
equal parenting skills to heterosexual parents. 
Actively reach out to GLBT groups -- specifically the National Center for 
Lesbian Rights, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights 
Campaign and a national youth advocacy group -- to benefit from their 
resources and knowledge.
 
End the overt hostility toward GLBT people -- efforts such as the FMA -- which 
devalue GLBT families.
 
"We welcome this positive overture by the Bush Administration," said Rev. 
Perry. "We take as sincere the invitation by the Bush administration for our 
predominantly gay church group to recommend government policies to increase 
adoption and recruit foster families." 

However, this latest overture is not the first time the Bush administration 
has sent mixed signals to the GLBT community and to MCC, in particular.

In October 2003, during the same week President Bush first endorsed anti-gay 
marriage protection, he sent an enthusiastic 35th anniversary congratulations 
to MCC, a group that performs more than 6,000 same-sex weddings annually.

In his letter dated Oct. 14, 2003, to MCC Los Angeles, President Bush wrote: 
"By encouraging the celebration of faith and sharing of God's love and 
boundless mercy, churches like yours put hope in the people's hearts and a 
sense of purpose in their lives. This milestone provides an opportunity to 
reflect on your years of service and to rejoice in God's faithfulness to your 
congregation."

Days later, according to Jim Birkitt, director of communications for MCC, 
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan disavowed any Bush outreach to 
gay and lesbian churches.

"The president's track record is not encouraging," Birkitt said. "But as 
people of faith, we are always hopeful. The real test will be whether the 
administration will respond to Rev. Perry's recommendations and move forward 
with them."
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	Ralph.
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